My boy hit with words.

Do you remember the wading pool?

We spent the morning waiting for the sun to warm it up.

…and you and I were never cool.

Remember how pissed off we were when Jonathon beat you up.

beat you up, violin case to the gut,

beat you up, beat you up,

his mom said, “Your boy hits with words.”

 This is one of the first songs my daughter wrote. Someone reviewed it and said it might have been the next great hit, if only it were more than a mere minute long.It may be a short song, but it is a big memory for all of us. It is called, “The Noah Song.”

            I was reminded of it in class a couple weeks ago when a classmate told a story about her young son being bullied. This song is about my son being bullied. Noah was a very small, skinny boy. To make matters worse, he was awkward and shy and played the cello. He used to ask me why I couldn’t have given him a cool name, like Steve. Kids always asked him where his ark was. Many times I told him about Noah and the ark, and that he should be proud of his name.

            Kids like Jonathon make life hard for boys like Noah. Jonathon was a big boy, and strong. He constantly picked on Noah. After he shoved his violin case in Noah’s gut I decided to try to talk to his mother. It did little good, as you can deduce by her response to me. She also spoke very little English, so I wasn’t able to make her understand with my words. I had to walk away knowing that I hadn’t accomplished anything to help my boy.

            Bullying is a problem. It leads to other things. I am lucky that it only lead my son into joining the military, instead of using drugs or alcohol. I guess you could say he used violence – but it was ordered. I wasn’t happy when Noah joined the Marines, but looking back now I can see that it was the best choice for him at the time. He’s okay now, and for that I am so very thankful.

            Being picked on by Jonathon had an impact on Noah, but as you can tell by the song, it also had an impact on Anna. She wrote the song about the incident at least 7 years after it had happened. Now it is something we will never forget, because it is attached to a catchy little tune. I think that is what is called taking lemons and making lemonade.